PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The RBC Heritage and the Memorial both announced on Friday that there are no planned schedule changes at this time.
On Thursday night, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that all PGA Tour events would be canceled through the Valero Texas Open, April 2-5. On Friday morning, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley announced that the Masters, which was scheduled to begin on April 9, is postponed until a later date.
The RBC Heritage, which begins April 16, would be the next tournament on the schedule that already hasn’t been canceled.
“Additional protocols to promote the health and safety of all participants and fans are being regularly reviewed,” the tournament said in a statement. “Since this is a very fluid situation, the Heritage Classic Foundation is continuously monitoring available facts and will provide updates on our social channels and rbcheritage.com as they become available.”
The Memorial, which is scheduled for June 4-7, also expressed concerns for the health and safety of its patrons, sponsors, volunteers, employees and competitors.
“As of today, guided by the current knowledge and information provided by World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, local government health agencies and Central Ohio’s leading medical providers, we are proceeding with the planning and execution tied to hosting the 45th Memorial Tournament,” tournament media representative Tom Sprouse said in a release.
“This has been a day and week of incredible concern, confusion and frustration throughout the sporting world, and, more important, our world in general. But as it relates to sport, I applaud the decisions made and the actions taken by all the sporting organizations and ruling bodies, and we hope they produce the intended result, which is simply to keep people safe and not expose them to significant health risks,” Memorial Tournament founder and host Jack Nicklaus said. “As an enormous sports fan myself, I hope the passionate fan bases behind every sport are able to pause, take a step back, and reflect on the importance behind the decisions made. Until this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is resolved and until things resume with some normalcy, my friends, please be safe, be smart and stay healthy.”
